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Does Fetal Sex Influence the Risk of Preterm Delivery in Dichorionic Twin Pregnancies After Spontaneous Conception?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Katharina Klein ,
Christof Worda ,
Maria Stammler-Safar ,
Peter Husslein ,
Norbert Gleicher  and
Andrea Weghofer
Katharina Klein*
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Feto-maternal Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. [email protected]
Christof Worda
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Feto-maternal Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Maria Stammler-Safar
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Feto-maternal Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Peter Husslein
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Feto-maternal Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Norbert Gleicher
Affiliation:
The Center for Human Reproduction and The Foundation for Reproductive Medicine, New York, United States of America; Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences Yale University, School of Medicine, United States of America.
Andrea Weghofer
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Feto-maternal Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
*
*Address for correspondence: Katharina Klein, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Feto-maternal Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18–20, A-1090 Vienna.

Abstract

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Objective: The incidence of preterm delivery has been increasing, and our aim was to estimate the influence of fetal sex on the risk of preterm delivery in dichorionic twins after spontaneous conception. Methods: 125 spontaneously conceived dichorionic twin gestations, with viable fetuses, born after 24 weeks and delivered spontaneously before 37 weeks, were enrolled. The impact of fetal sex, previous preterm delivery, maternal age, body-mass-index, smoking, and parity on gestational age at birth were evaluated. Results: Despite similar baseline characteristics in all three groups, women with one or two male fetuses delivered significantly more often before 34 weeks than patients with two female fetuses, 48% (23/48) and 43% (19/44) vs 21% (7/33), p = .04. Regression analyses, including fetal sex, maternal age, maternal body-mass-index, smoking, previous preterm delivery and parity, revealed that only fetal sex was significantly associated with spontaneous preterm delivery (p = .03). Conclusion: Fetal sex appears to be a risk factor for preterm delivery in spontaneously conceived dichorionic twin gestations. Twin pregnancies with one or two male fetuses seem to be at higher risk for spontaneous preterm delivery than those with only females.

Keywords

fetal sexpreterm birthspontaneous conceptionchorionicitytwin pregnancy
Type
Articles
Information
Twin Research and Human Genetics , Volume 13 , Issue 5 , 01 October 2010 , pp. 495 - 500
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010